Wondering how therapy can help you? Here are seven key benefits of therapy shared by people who’ve experienced it.

1. Better Understand Healthy vs. Unhealthy Relationships

"Therapy helped me see how a combination of abusive experiences from my past all came together in the perfect storm, causing me to make a really unhealthy relationship decisions in adulthood.
“I was able to understand that what happened to me really was abuse and wasn’t just “normal”, like I was raised to believe in my family, I got perspective on what normal, healthy behavior really does look like, and I’ve had a lot of support from my therapist to practice and establish healthy boundaries."

2. Learn How to Manage Anger

"I used to have anger issues before I went to therapy, and it's really helped me have a more calm demeanor."

3. Help Process Your Emotions

"It's been helpful to have someone objectively listen to me and not tell me that I'm wrong or whatever for feeling whatever it is that I feel. It also helps give me tools that will in turn help me in the long run.

"It's good to be able to get some of those emotions out and not have them boil over and learn how to ultimately understand myself a little better."

4. Learn How to Regulate Your Mood

"I have been talking to the same counselor for almost 6 years now. I had some really bad experiences with therapy in the past so reaching out to this one took a lot of courage.

"It's helped me to regulate my mood and understand why I have the reactions I do. It's taught me to be mindful and name my emotions. It's not an easy road, but I believe it's well worth it if you find a good one."

5. Get Support with Processing Trauma

"So I tried therapy once before and it was terrible. The guy said, "What was your week like, oh ok that is cool, see you later." It was a complete waste of time. I couldn't help but think how the hell is this dude actually going to help me get over my PTSD, depression, and anxiety. He had no interest I felt like in helping me, just kinda a guy to ask me what I did. It was equivalent to my wife asking me what I did at work today.

“Fast forward five years later and I tried therapy again. This time the guy gets it. He gets my issues and gets why I have them. Instead of just asking me what my week is like, he starts with, "Tell me something that happened to you this week that was positive.

"During the session he doesn't validate my feelings but helps me understand why I feel that way. He’s trying to help me not erase my memories of trauma, but find the "good" in what happened. Like yeah it sucks, such and such happened, but how has that experience helped in some way? Rewrite the endings because you can't rewrite the past, and don't allow your past to control you but allow it to teach you.

“He also helps me understand why I feel certain ways and why it may not be rational to think that way now. Such as, "You have a fear of someone doing a home invasion on you because it happened when you were a child and is a violent memory, but you aren't in that situation anymore. Could it happen? Yes, but the chances of it happening are much smaller now that you are out of what your mother put you in." This has been huge for me."

6. Move Past Self-Blame

"It helped me realize that a major part of my trauma I was blaming myself for. It showed me the reality that what happened could happen to anyone and I wasn't to blame."

7. Gain a Different Perspective on Your Experiences

"I was forced into therapy as a teenager and I hated it. My mom and the therapist would gang up on me and would basically try to convince me that I was selfish for not accepting my new stepdad. I stopped going as soon as I moved out.

“When I started having panic attacks during college, I decided to give therapy another try and I always felt a bit awkward talking to my then 50 year old proper lady therapist about drugs, drinking, sex, and other such topics and I never felt like I could be completely genuine. I felt like I had to put on somewhat of a face for her. She also had me do different therapy methods that seemed very structured and I hated going through these really unnatural motions. I stopped going after a few years. I figured therapy just wasn't for me and I got accustomed to my panic attacks that would happen multiple times per day.

“Then a few years ago, while in my professional career, I thought maybe it'd be good to have someone to talk to about the stresses at work because surprisingly, not many people want to hear about a day in the life of an accountant. I met my current therapist and now I understand what therapy can do for you if it's the therapy that best fits you with a person that you feel you can connect with.

“My therapist lets me have the floor. Somedays I go in and we have plenty to discuss and work on, and somedays I just want to talk to someone about how dumb a season finale for a TV show was. The most important thing for me is that it's one place that I feel completely in control, I have no barriers, I say whatever I want and I say it however I want to say it. After so many years of being a prisoner to my own mind, I finally get a chance to feel free and it is so empowering.

“Besides getting to talk about whatever I want, my therapist also helps me understand things from another perspective. I'm always quick to forgive others and to put them on a pedestal but punish myself and think that everything is my fault. He helps me see situations objectively and helps me learn how to analyze my anxious thoughts and see the root of where they're coming from. I think that therapy can be a magical thing - as long as people can be patient enough to find the type of therapist that best suits them and their needs."

These experiences raise an important point – the biggest factor contributing towards positive outcomes in therapy is the relationship you have with your therapist.

It’s even more important than the type of treatment or the amount of experience your therapist has - it’s therefore vital to find a therapist you feel comfortable with.

Read this article for more tips on how to choose a therapist.

Summary

Wondering how therapy can help you? Here are seven key benefits:

Better understand healthy vs. unhealthy relationships
Learn how to manage anger
Help process your emotions
Learn how to regulate your mood
Get support with processing trauma
Move past self-blame
Gain a different perspective on your experiences

A Toolkit to Accelerate Your Therapy Journey

Our self-guided program includes tools from CBT, DBT, ACT and more, so you can discover what works best for you. Check out The Mental Wellbeing Toolkit today – it's "like 10 therapy sessions in one."